Prof. Amal Shah, Faculty of Design, CEPT University

HISTORY OF DESIGNA J O U R N E Y I N T O T H E H I S T O RY O F A R C H I T E C T U R E A N D I N T E R I O R D E S I G N

R o m a n e s q u e A r c h i t e c t u r e

Europe in 900

ROMANESQUERomanesque architectureis an architectural style of medieval Europe. (lasted from the 5th to the 15th century).

The word "Romanesque" means "descended from Roman" and was first used in English to designate what are now called Romance languages.

The French term "romane"was first used in the architectural sense describe what Gerville sees as debased Roman architecture.

Romanesque style was the first style to spread across the whole of Catholic Europe, from Sicily to Scandinavia.Europe in 1190

OriginRomanesque architecture was the first distinctive style to spread across Europe since the Roman Empire. With the decline of Rome, Roman building methods survived to an extent in Western Europe, where successive Merovingian, Carolingian and Ottonian architects continued to build large stone buildings such as monastery churches and palaces.

In the more northern countries Roman building styles and techniques had never been adopted except for official buildings, while in Scandinavia they were unknown. Although the round arch continued in use, the engineering skills required to vault large spaces and build large domes were lost.

There was a loss of stylistic continuity, particularly apparent in the decline of the formal vocabulary of the Classical Orders. In Rome several great Constantinian basilicas continued in use as an inspiration to later builders.

Some traditions of Roman architecture also survived in Byzantine architecture with the 6th-century octagonal Byzantine Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna being the inspiration for the greatest building of the Dark Ages in Europe.

Politics

At a time when the remaining architectural structures of the Roman Empire were falling into decay and much of its learning and technology lost, the building of masonry domes and the carving of decorative architectural details continued unabated, though greatly evolved in style since the fall of Rome, in the enduring Byzantine Empire.

Much of Europe was affected by feudalism in which peasants held tenure from local rulers over the land that they farmed in exchange for military service.

The Crusades, 1095–1270, brought about a very large movement of people and, with them, ideas and trade skills, particularly those involved in the building of fortifications and the metal working needed for the provision of arms, which was also applied to the fitting and decoration of buildings.

The continual movement of people, rulers, nobles, bishops, abbots, craftsmen and peasants, was an important factor in creating a homogeneity in building methods and a recognizable Romanesque style, despite regional differences.

ReligionMonasticismThe system of monasticism in which the religious become members of an order was established by the monk Benedict in the 6th century.

The Benedictine monasteries spread from Italy throughout Europe, being always by far the most numerous in England. During the Crusades, the military orders of the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar were founded.

The monasteries, which sometimes also functioned as cathedrals were a major source of power in Europe. Bishops and the abbots of important monasteries lived and functioned like princes. The monasteries were the major seats of learning of all sorts.

Pilgrimage and CrusadesOne of the effects of the Crusades, which were intended to wrest the Holy Places of Palestine from Islamic control, was to excite a great deal of religious fervour, which in turn inspired great building programs.

The Nobility of Europe, upon safe return, thanked God by the building of a new church or the enhancement of an old one. Likewise, those who did not return from the Crusades could be suitably commemorated by their family in a work of stone and mortar.

The Crusades resulted in the transfer of, among other things, a great number of Holy Relics of saints and apostles. Many churches had their own home grown saint while others, most notably Santiago de Compostela, claimed the remains and the patronage of a powerful saint, became one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Europe.

ROMANESQUE ART

Romanesque art is the art of Europe from approximately 800 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century. Romanesque art was also greatly influenced by Byzantine art, especially in painting, and by the anti-classical energy of the decoration of the Insular art of the British Isles. From these elements was forged a highly innovative and coherent style.

Romanesque ArchitectureArchitecture of a Romanesque style also developed simultaneously in the north of Italy, parts of France and in the Iberian Peninsula in the 10th century and prior to the later influence of the Abbey of Cluny. The style, sometimes called First Romanesque or LombardRomanesque, is characterised by thick walls, lack of sculpture and the presence of rhythmic ornamental arches known as a Lombardband.Buildings of every type were constructed in the Romanesque style, with evidence remaining of simple domestic buildings, elegant town houses, grand palaces, commercial premises, civic buildings, castles, city walls, bridges, village churches, abbey churches, abbey complexes and large cathedrals.

Saint Nicholas Rotunda in Cieszyn, Poland

Romanesque house in Poreč, Croatia

Abbey Church of St James, Lebeny, Hungary

The Civic Hall in Massa Marittima, Italy

WallsThe walls of Romanesque buildings are often of massive thickness with few and comparatively small openings. They are often double shells, filled with rubble. The building material differs greatly across Europe, depending upon the local stone and building traditions. In Italy, Poland, much of Germany and parts of the Netherlands, brick is generally used. Other areas saw extensive use of limestone, granite and flint. The building stone was often used in comparatively small and irregular pieces, bedded in thick mortar.

Architectural Elements

ButtressesRomanesque buttresses are generally of flat square profile. In the case of aisled churches, barrel vaults, or half-barrel vaults over the aisles helped to buttress the nave, if it was vaulted. In the cases where half-barrel vaults were used, they effectively became like flying buttresses. Often aisles extended through two storeys, so as to better support the weight of a vaulted nave. In the case of Durham Cathedral, flying buttresses have been employed, but are hidden inside the triforiumgallery.

CharacteristicsWalls and Buttresses

The general impression given by Romanesque architecture, in both Religious and secular buildings, is one of massive solidity and strength. In contrast with both the preceding Roman and later Gothic architecture, Romanesque architecture, in common with Byzantine architecture, relies upon its walls, or sections of walls called piers.

Romanesque architecture is often divided into two periods known as the "First Romanesque" style and the "Romanesque" style. The First Romanesque employed rubble walls, smaller windows and unvaulted roofs. A greater refinement marks the Second Romanesque, along with increased use of the vault and dressed stone.

Walls

The walls of Romanesque buildings are often of massive thickness with few and comparatively small openings. They are often double shells, filled with rubble.

Characteristics

Buttresses

Because of the massive nature of Romanesque walls, buttresses are not a highly significant feature, as they are in Gothic architecture. Romanesque buttresses are generally of flat square profile and do not project a great deal beyond the wall. In the case of aisled churches, barrel vaults, or half-barrel vaults over the aisles helped to buttress the nave, if it was vaulted.

In the cases where half-barrel vaults were used, they effectively became like flying buttresses. Often aisles extended through two storeys, rather than the one usual in Gothic architecture, so as to better support the weight of a vaulted nave.

Abbaye Cerisy le Foret, Normandy, France, has a compact appearance with aisles rising through two storeys buttressing the vault.

Castle Rising, England, shows flat buttresses and reinforcing at the corners of the building typical in both castles and churches.

The monastery of San Vittore alleChiuse, Genga, Italy, of undressed stone, has a typically fortress-like appearance with small windows of early Romanesque.

Arches and openings

The arches used in Romanesque architecture are nearly always semi-circular, for openings such as doors and windows, for vaults and for arcades.

Wide doorways are usually surmounted by a semi-circular arch, except where a door with a lintel is set into a large arched recess and surmounted by a semi-circular "lunette" with decorative carving. These doors sometimes have a carved central jamb.

Narrow doors and small windows might be surmounted by a solid stone lintel. Larger openings are nearly always arched. A characteristic feature of Romanesque architecture, is the pairing of two arched windows or arcade openings, separated by a pillar or colonette and often set within a larger arch.

Ocular windows are common in Italy, particularly in the facade gable and are also seen in Germany. Later Romanesque churches may have wheel windows or rose windows with plate tracery.

Worms Cathedral, Germany, displays a great variety of openings and arcades including wheel and rose windows, many small simple windows, galleries and Lombard courses.

ArcadesAn arcade is a row of arches, supported on piers or columns. They occur in the interior of large churches, separating the nave from the aisles, and in large secular interiors spaces, such as the great hall of a castle, supporting the timbers of a roof or upper floor. Arcades also occur in cloisters and atriums, enclosing an open space.

Arcades

ColumnsColumns are an important structural feature of Romanesque architecture. Monolithic columns cut from a single piece of stone were frequently used in Italy, as they had been in Roman and Early Christian architecture. Types of columns such as Drum columns (Solid cylinders) , Hollow core columns (Filled with a rubble core), Salvaged columns, and Pilasters (embedded into the wall) were used.

St Michael's, Hildesheim, shows two columns set between the piers.

Mainz Cathedral, Germany, has rectangular piers.

Malmesbury Abbey, England, has hollow core columns, probably filled with rubble.

The cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, has large drum columns with attached shafts supporting a barrel vault.

CapitalsThe foliate Corinthian style provided the inspiration for many Romanesque capitals, and the accuracy with which they were carved depended very much on the availability of original models. The Corinthian capital is essentially round at the bottom where it sits on a circular column and square at the top, where it supports the wall or arch. This form of capital was maintained in the general proportions and outline of the Romanesque capital. The capitals, while retaining the form of a square top and a round bottom, were often compressed into little more than a bulging cushion-shape.

Vaults and roofs

The majority of buildings have wooden roofs, generally of a simple truss, tie beam or king postform. In the case of trussed rafter roofs, they are sometimes lined with wooden ceilings in three sections

Barrel vault

A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve along a given distance. The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design. The barrel vault is the simplest form of a vault.

Groin Vault

A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. The word "groin" refers to the edge between the intersecting vaults. Sometimes the arches of groin vaults are pointed instead of round. In comparison with a barrel vault, a groin vault provides good economies of material and labour. The thrust is concentrated along the groins or arises (the four diagonal edges formed along the points where the barrel vaults intersect), so the vault need only be abutted at its four corners.

Vaults and roofs

Vaults of stone or brick took on several different forms and showed marked development during the period, evolving into the pointed ribbed arch characteristic of Gothic architecture. Types of Vaults such as Barrel vault, Groin vault, Ribbed vault, and Pointed arched vault

The painted barrel vault at the Abbey Church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe is supported on tall marbled columns.

The Church of St Philibert, Tournus, has a series of transverse barrel vaults supported on arches.

The aisle of the Abbey Church at Mozac has a groin vault supported on transverse arches.

The aisles at Peterborough Cathedral have quadripartite ribbed vaults.

Architecture and Interior Spaces

PlansAbbey and cathedral churches generally follow the Latin Cross plan. In England, the extension eastward may be long, while in Italy it is often short or non-existent, the church being of T plan, sometimes with apses on the transept ends as well as to the east.

In Germany, Romanesque churches are often of distinctive form, having apses at both east and west ends, the main entrance being central to one side. It is probable that this form came about to accommodate a baptistery at the west end.

Architecture and Interior Space making elementsThe East End

The eastern end of a Romanesque church is almost always semi-circular, with either a high chancel surrounded by an ambulatory as in France, or a square end from which an apse projects as in Germany and Italy.

Where square ends exist in English churches, they are probably influenced by Anglo Saxon churches. Peterborough and Norwich Cathedrals have retained round east ends in the French style.

West End/Façade

Romanesque church facades, generally to the west end of the building, are usually symmetrical, have a large central portal made significant by its mouldings or porch, and an arrangement of arched-topped windows.

Smaller churches often have a single tower that is usually placed to the western end in France or England, either centrally or to one side, while larger churches and cathedrals often have two.

Towers were an important feature of Romanesque churches and a great number of them are still standing. They take a variety of forms: square, circular and octagonal, and are positioned differently in relation to the church building in different countries.

In northern France, two large towers, such as those at Caen, were to become an integral part of the facade of any large abbey or cathedral. In central and southern France this is more variable and large churches may have one tower or a central tower. Large churches of Spain and Portugal usually have two towers.

Towers were an important feature of Romanesque churches. They take a variety of forms: square, circular and octagonal, and are positioned differently in relation to the church building in different countries. As a general rule, large Romanesque towers are square with corner buttresses of low profile, rising without diminishing through the various stages. Towers are usually marked into clearly defined stages by horizontal courses. As the towers rise, the number and size of openings increases as can be seen on the right tower of the transept of Tournai Cathedral where two narrow slits in the fourth level from the top becomes a single window, then two windows, then three windows at the uppermost level. This sort of arrangement is particularly noticeable on the towers of Italian churches, which are usually built of brick and may have no other ornament.

•Number: 5•Height: 83 metres (272 ft)

PortalsRomanesque churches generally have a single portal centrally placed on the west front, the focus of decoration for the facade of the building. Some churches such as Saint-Étienne, Caen, (11th century) and Pisa Cathedral (late 12th century) had three western portals, in the manner of Early Christian basilicas.

Romanesque doorways have a character form, with the jambs having a series of receding planes, into each of which is set a circular shaft, all surmounted by a continuous abacus. There are typically four planes containing three shafts, but there may be as many as twelve shafts, symbolic of the apostles.

The opening of the portal may be arched, or may be set with a lintel supporting a tympanum, generally carved, but in Italy sometimes decorated with mosaic or fresco. A carved tympanum generally constitutes the major sculptural work of a Romanesque church.

The subject of the carving on a major portal may be Christ in Majesty or the Last Judgement. Lateral doors may include other subjects such as the Birth of Christ.

Interiors

The structure of large churches differed regionally and developed across the centuries.

The use of piers of rectangular plan to support arcades was common, and remained usual in smaller churches across Europe, with the arcades often taking the form of openings through the surface of a wall.

In Italy, where there was a strong tradition of using marble columns, complete with capital, base and abacus, this remained prevalent, often reusing existent ancient columns.

A number of 11th-century churches have naves distinguished by huge circular columns with no clerestory.

In England stout columns of large diameter supported decorated arches, gallery and clerestory. By the early 12th century composite piers had evolved, in which the attached shafts swept upward to a ribbed vault or were continued into the mouldings of the arcade, as at Vézelay Abbey, St Etienne, Caen, and Peterborough Cathedral.

St Gertrude, Nivelles, has a nave and aisles divided by piers supporting a clerestorey. The nave is divided by transverse arches. The interior would have been plastered and painted.

San Miniato al Monte, Florence, (1013–1090) has basilical form, open timber roof and decoration of polychrome marble and mosaic. The decoration continued harmoniously until the apsidal mosaic of 1260.

The Church of St Philibert, Tournus, has tall circular piers supporting the arcade and is roofed with a series of barrel vaults supported on arches. Small clerestory windows light the vault.

The nave of Peterborough Cathedral in three stages of arcade, gallery & clerestory, typical of Norman abbey churches. The rare wooden ceiling retains its original decoration

Abbey of St Mary Magdalene, Vézelay, has clusters of vertical shafts rising to support transverse arches and a groin vault. The dressed polychrome stonework has exquisitely detailed mouldings.

Embellishments

The structure of large churches differed regionally and developed across the centuries.

The use of piers of rectangular plan to support arcades was common, and remained usual in smaller churches across Europe, with the arcades often taking the form of openings through the surface of a wall.

In Italy, where there was a strong tradition of using marble columns, complete with capital, base and abacus, this remained prevalent, often reusing existent ancient columns.

A number of 11th-century churches have naves distinguished by huge circular columns with no clerestory.

In England stout columns of large diameter supported decorated arches, gallery and clerestory. By the early 12th century composite piers had evolved, in which the attached shafts swept upward to a ribbed vault or were continued into the mouldings of the arcade, as at Vézelay Abbey, St Etienne, Caen, and Peterborough Cathedral.

The atrium and arcaded narthex of Sant'Ambrogio, Milan, Italy, is a harmonious composition of similar arches.

The facade of Notre Dame du Puy, le Puyen Velay, France, has a more complex arrangement of diversified arches: Doors of varying widths, blind arcading, windows and open arcades.

Pisa Cathedral, Italy. The entire building is faced with marble striped in white and grey. On the facade this pattern is overlaid with architectonic decoration of blind arcading below tiers of dwarf galleries.

Apse of Sant Climent de Taüll, a Catalan fresco by the Master of Taüll, now in Museu Nacional

d'Art de Catalunya.

The Three Magi from the St. Albans Psalter, English, 12th century.

The "Morgan Leaf", detached from the Winchester Bible of 1160−75.

Scenes from the life of David.

WALL MURALSThe large wall surfaces and plain, curving vaults of the Romanesque period lent themselves to mural decoration. Many of these early wall paintings have been destroyed by damp or the walls have been replastered and painted over. In England, France and the Netherlands such pictures were systematically destroyed or whitewashed in bouts of Reformation iconoclasm.

METALWORKPrecious objects had a very high status in the period, probably much more so than paintings. Metalwork, including decoration in enamel, became very sophisticated. Large reliquaries and altar frontals were built around a wooden frame, but smaller caskets were all metal and enamel.

Stavelot Triptych, Mosan, Belgium, c. 1156–58. 48×66 cm with wings open.

The bronze Gloucester candlestick, 12th century

Stained glass, the Prophet Daniel from Augsburg

Cathedral, late 11th century.

Detail showing use of applied

paint and silver stain

Detail of the Jesse Tree panel from York Minster

Detail of a panel from Chartres Cathedral

SCULPTURESWith the fall of the Roman Empire, the tradition of carving large works in stone and sculpting figures in bronze died out, as it effectively did (for religious reasons) in the Byzantine world. Some life-size sculpture was evidently done in stucco or plaster. These were later set up on a beam below the chancel arch, known in English as a rood, from the twelfth century accompanied by figures of the Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist to the sides. During the 11th and 12th centuries, figurative sculpture strongly revived, and architectural reliefs are a hallmark of the later Romanesque period.

Pórtico da Gloria, Santiago Cathedral. The colouring once common to much Romanesque sculpture has been preserved.

The tympanum of Vézelay Abbey, Burgundy, France, 1130s.

The central portion of the Vézelay tympanum continues this process of politicizing religion. The central tympanum shows a benevolent Christ conveying his message to the Apostles, who flank him on either side. This Christ is distinct in Romanesque architecture. He is a stark contrast to the angry Christ of the St. Pierre de Moissac tympanum. The Moissac Christ is a forbidding figure that sits upon the throne of judgment. It is another example of the typical Romanesque Christ. His face is without caring or emotion. He holds the scrolls containing the deeds of mankind, and he stands ready to execute punishment on the damned.

Life-size wooden Crucifix commissioned by Archbishop Gero of Cologne in about 960–65, apparently the prototype of what became a popular form.

The Virgin and Child in Majesty and the Adoration of the Magi, Val d'Aran, Catalonia, c. 1100

This capital of Christ washing the feet of his Apostles has strong narrative qualities in the interaction of the figures.

One of the most significant motifs of Romanesque design, occurring in both figurative and non-figurative sculpture is the spiral. One of the sources may be Ionic capitals. Scrolling vines were a common motif of both Byzantine and Roman design, and may be seen in mosaic on the vaults of the 4th century Church of Santa Costanza, Rome. Manuscripts and architectural carvings of the 12th century have very similar scrolling vine motifs.

St Albans Cathedralformally known as the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban, is a Church of England cathedral church within St Albans, England. At 84 metres (276 ft), its nave is the longest of any cathedral in England. St Albans Cathedral England, demonstrates the typical alterations made to the fabric of many Romanesque buildings in different styles and materials

The nave. The north wall (left) features a mix of Norman arches dating back to 1077 and arches in the Early English style of 1200.

The choir

(on the left) The Wallingford Screen of c. 1480—the statues are Victorian replacements (1884–89) of the originals, destroyed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries, when the screen itself was also damaged. Statues of St Alban and St Amphibalus stand on either side of the altar.

Worms Cathedral, Germany

Germany is one of the cradles of Romanesque architecture, which developed from the 8th C to 12th C; offers resemblance to the style of Lombardy.

The city of Worms is one of the oldest cities in Germany, where Celtic and Roman have lived on the banks of the Rhine, as was also the centre of power since the late fifteenth century.

The plant of basilica, has three naves and a transept at the centre of which stands a tower with a large dome. After the transept is the chorus, so that ends with a square apse flanked by two semi-circular towers. The nave is 57 m long and 11 m wide, and is organized into four sections covered by cross vaults.

It is a basilica with four round towers, two large domes, and a choir at each end. The interior is built in red sandstone. Today, the Wormser Dom is a Catholic parish church, honoured with the title of "Minor Basilica".

Only the ground plan and the lower part of the western towers belong to the original building consecrated in 1110. The remainder was mostly finished by 1181, but the west choir and the vaulting were built in the 13th century, the elaborate south portal was added in the 14th century, and the central dome has been rebuilt.

The cathedral is 110 m long, and 27 m wide. The transepts, near the west end, extend to 36 m (inner measurements). The height in the nave is 26 m and the interior of the domes are 40 m.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa or simply the Tower of Pisa (Torre di Pisa) is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa, known worldwide for its unintended tilt.The height of the tower is 55.86 metres from the ground on the low side and 56.67 metres on the high side. The width of the walls at the base is 2.44 m. Its weight is estimated at 14,500 metric tons. The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase. Prior to restoration work performed between 1990 and 2001, the tower leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees, but the tower now leans at about 3.99 degrees.

Maria Laach Abbey, Germany

Maria Laach Abbey is a Benedictine abbey.

The abbey structure dates from between 1093 and 1177, with a paradisiumadded around 1225 and is considered a prime example of Romanesque architecture of the Staufenperiod. Despite its long construction time the well-preserved basilica with its six towers is considered to be one of the most beautiful Romanesque buildings in Germany.

• Cloister

• Tympanum

• Narthex

• Ambulatory

• Trumeau

• Clerestory

• Types of Christian buildings